With a few weeks left in 2014 we had only completed four out of five items for this year… With that in mind, we booked a nuts off-the-beaten-track weekend in Trondheim, Norway, for the first weekend in December with the hope that we would see the Northern Lights (item 21. See the Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis))…

So, were we successful? Did we compete five bucket list items in 2014?

For those that might not know, a “bucket list” is a list of all the goals you want to achieve, dreams you want to fulfill and life experiences you desire to experience before you die. I find that I am more focused on maximising every moment and avoiding the “I’ll do it later” mindset when I have a clear target in mind.

Looking back on our plans and intentions for 2014, I am reminded that everything can change at any moment. We had big plans for 2014. It was the year our UK working holiday visas were due to expire and we wanted to return to Australia via a couple of months in South America during the FIFA World Cup in Brazil.

Had all gone to plan, we were hoped to see the iconic Christ the Redeemer statue (bucket list number 14), trek the Inca trail in Peru and visit Machu Picchu (number 24), and attend a football (soccer) match at a FIFA World Cup (number 34). It turns out that our adventure to South America will have to wait for another time.

Instead, we have been lucky enough to cross other items off our list during the course of 2014:

Being somewhat overcast and not the best conditions, the Northern Lights were not as spectacular as we had hoped. But the overwhelming satisfaction that I felt in crossing off another item from my bucket list was worth it.